If You're a Prince Fan, Your Dream Job Is Now Hiring

Six months after Prince's death in 2016, a team of archivers led by director Angie Marchese at Paisley Park was tasked with going through thousands and thousands of artifacts stored inside the musician's vault. The premises, which Prince built in a Minneapolis suburb in 1987, included a soundstage and recording studio and was transformed into a museum after the icon's death in 2016. By 2017, the team had catalogued more than 7,000 items, which was estimated as less than 5 percent of what was hidden in the building.

“We have on display here his Walkman, with cassette tapes that are dated 1977,” Marchese told the New York Times last year. “From what we’re told, he was never far from his Walkman. He was constantly recording himself. He would write lyrics on anything. It’s like he couldn’t turn his brain off. He was constantly just purging all of his creative energy onto paper.”

With a daunting task ahead, Paisley Park is looking for a new hire to help catalogue the artifacts of the 65,000-square-foot complex and its archives.

A new job listing on the American Alliance of Museums' website is seeking a new archives supervisor. While "some knowledge of Prince is helpful," according to the listed requirements, the applicant must also have the "ability to perceive and deal with sensitive issues and maintain confidentiality." It also requires "prior knowledge/experience with artifact handling, storage, and conservation" along with 2-3 years minimum experience and a college degree.

Here are the responsibilities listed on the website:

Actively work in the care, catalog, storage and preservation of all artifacts and archival materials; the care, cleaning, and monitoring of all exhibits.

Maintain and Update the archival database system.

Monitor the trafficking of archive inventory.

Assist the appropriate staff in having access to the archives collection as required.

Travel/act as a courier of artifacts to locations where artifacts are to be displayed including the setting up and taking down of exhibits in these locations.

Execute, maintain, and provide accurate conditioning reports for all items being moved from storage for exhibition.

Ensure that the collections manual, preservation plans and archives emergency plan are observed.

Locate, retrieve, and prepare artifacts for display/loans.

Ensure the integrity of the collection in maintained at all times.

Oversea all cleaning of exhibit spaces.

Work with outside vendors to schedule monthly, quarterly and annual cleaning.

Assist with Archives long term planning, conservation goals and preservation needs.

Assist other departments with general research/fact checking, research use of the collection

Assist with the training staff in methods and procedures for the database system, in collection preparation and care, and in exhibit development and installation.

Assist with the supervision the daily activities of the archives staff.

Conduct annual performance evaluations of archives staff.

Perform the job of courier when needed

Other duties as required.

What's really odd, though, is that an applicant "must adhere to a pescatarian environment" under the conditions of employment. Perhaps that's because Prince's personal chef once described him as a "nocturnal pescatarian."

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